Ngata United FC

A few weeks before Colleen and I went home in June, I looked up my old soccer club (South Central Select from Greenwood, Indiana, now called South Central Soccer Academy)  on the internet and emailed the marketing director to see if they’d be interested in donating anything to my team in Ngata.  Jeremy Neely, VP and marketing  director of SCSA wrote me back and was amazingly receptive to the idea.  While we were home, my dad and I went down to the SCSA fields (a trip we used to make together 3-4 times a week) to meet Jeremy.  He was incredibly nice and gave so much… jerseys, balls, T-shirts, shorts, cleats, pennies, socks, medals, backpacks… it was amazing!  Fortunately we had some additional bags to use for coming back to Kenya, because we had 2 and a half bags of football gear! 

The last few weeks, I’ve been so excited about giving these things to the team!  I had some of the shirts resized and numbers put on the few that didn’t have them, then last week made a big presentation of the gifts to the team at practice.  It really is so much fun to give things away!  We sorted all of the shirts (about 50) and gave some to the junior squad, keeping the red ones to use as their first set of uniforms.  They were so excited!  Then the senior team tried on all of their new gear and posed for some pictures – they especially loved the red jerseys and the backpacks!

After presenting all the gifts and getting team pictures, we had a meeting with speeches and thanks, where the guys expressed their gratitude to me and to SCSA.  I wish I had taken a camera with a video recorder so I could share it!  They were really touched that people in the US want to send them things and support what they are doing.  They said that without the cleats and other donations, they wouldn’t have been able to join the district league that we began a few weeks ago. 

Most of the guys on the team are poorer on the socio-economic scale, and with unemployment in Kenya being around 40%, they don’t have any job prospects.  The football team, Ngata United FC, is really the best thing that many of them feel they have going in life.  Some of the older guys around the team have told me what a great thing it is because it really keeps guys from getting into gangs, alcohol, violence, drugs, etc.  Being supported and encouraged by “wazungu” (white people) from the US is an incredible blessing for them.  We are so thankful to Jeremy Neely and all of South Central Soccer Academy for their generous donation, and we hope to make you proud in your former uniforms this season! 

This past Sunday, we had our third league match on our home ground.  Despite the fact that the linesman didn’t understand the offsides rule, we won 3-1.  It was our first game wearing the kits donated by SCSA, and the guys were excited that they looked so good in all red.  Attendance at home matches continues to go up, as we typically have 150-200 people from town watching on the sideline.  It was a gorgeous day and a great win (we now have 7 points from 3 matches in the league).  The only bad thing was that I missed a wide open header!  The guys teased me a bit after the game, but I definitely deserved it… Here’s a post-victory picture:

It always amazes me how sports can make us feel… some of my most happy and most disappointing moments have been on a basketball court or football pitch.  I love seeing how excited the guys get after we score a goal or win – without sounding too hyperbolic, I really thing that football brings hope to the community.  I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with the guys since we’ve been back, and more have been coming to church with me.  Please pray that this team can continue to be a ministry and bring hope to the players, our opponents, and the town of Ngata.

The guys were asking me if it was possible for me to make them a website, so I made the team a facebook page.  If you’d like to keep up with us, you can “like” the page at facebook.com/NgataUnitedFC.  Also, you can CLICK HERE to see an album of pictures from when we were distributing the uniforms, and CLICK HERE to see one from our game on Sunday.  A big thanks to the lovely Colleen Wittig for taking most of these photographs. 

Thanks so much for your prayers and support,

Cason

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  -  1 Corinthians 9:24

Some of our fans from the Baby Center came with Colleen to a practice:

Tossing my buddy Brandon into the African sky at football practice – he loves it and keeps saying “tena… tena…” which means “again… again…”:

Some of the cutest fans from our game on Sunday that were all crowded around Colleen:

And finally one of our post game prayer… please keep these guys in your prayers!:

Thanks so much for reading!  God Bless!

Andrew & Malachi have families!

 

Our God is a God who hears our cries and answers our prayers!

When we left for the US last month I wept on the flight home because I was leaving behind two precious little boys who desperately needed families. Malachi and Andrew are two of the oldest toddlers and have grown up together. They are the last of the original group of toddlers who were at the Baby Center when we arrived last September.  Over the last year they have watched their age mates find homes and go to live with their new parents. Both of them have really struggled being left behind and are getting to an age where they understand that they aren’t whole without a family. As the last remaining from their original group, they became very close to each other and didn't really bond with the newer kids.  I was so afraid that one would be adopted and the other one left, which would have left the one remaining at Baby Center devastated.  

Once again God proved to me that he loves these children and is caring for their every need. A week after I arrived in the states in June, Staci, our director, emailed me to let me know that God had performed yet another miracle. At the same time, two families were expressing interest in adopting 3 year old boys.  What an answer to prayer!

  Yesterday Malachi and Andrew both joined their new families! Both boys were so excited and ready to be home that they hardly even could sit through our celebration service to say goodbye. Andrew kept saying “I’m going home now, my Mommy and Daddy are taking me home…. Bye!” And Malachi was promising Staci that he would bring sweets and toys back for her when he came to visit. It was so emotional and beautiful to watch these boys run and hug their parents, ready to start their new lives.  Please be praying for both boys as they adjust to their new lives outside of the Baby Center and also for both sets of parents to rely on God to give them wisdom in raising their new sons.

Andrew with his mom and dad!: 

Malachi leaving with his new mom!:

The LORD is faithful and knows our every need!

Love, 

Colleen 

Final hugs from Solomon and Gifton (Director Staci’s adopted boys):

 

Colleen and a dapper looking Malachi listening to his new mother at the goodbye celebration:

One last picture of the boys… we’re so happy that they’re at home with their families!:

Quick Baby Center Update

Friends,

We have been back in Kenya for a few weeks now and have pretty much readjusted to life.  It has been interesting to discover what was easy and what was more difficult to readjust to.  We quickly remembered how to drive of the left side of the road, how to arrive quite late for events.  We forgot the long lines and sometimes ridiculous inefficiency that occurs in government offices.  Cason came back to the office to a crashed computer so he had jump right back into work.

Zeke got so much bigger while we were gone... he's such a cutie!:

I went straight out to see my babies the day we arrived in Nakuru.  I was able to spend a week with them and then promptly got sick and have had to spend almost a week without them!  Fortunately I’m on the road to recovery and will be back out there soon.

 

At the baby Center we have three beautiful new additions to our family! 

Nathan

Gloria

Joel

While we were gone baby Phyllis and Jessica were also adopted out to wonderful parents.  Praise the Lord that they are with loving families now.   

Thank you all for keeping up with us!  We’ll be writing more soon.  There are some exciting things happening at the AGC Baby Centre! 

Colleen

Here are pictures of Phyllis and Jessica... I miss them, but am so glad that they now each have a mom and a dad!

Beautiful Phyllis

Jessica

Three weeks in the USA

Can’t believe it has been a month since our last post!  Our three weeks in the US flew by and we are now back in Kenya.  We were blessed with so much great time with our friends and family during our time in Wooster, Chicago, and Greenwood. 

Colleen’s sister Adrienne (with her husband, Matt, in the photo at left) got married the first Saturday that we were in the States, and it was so good to see so much of the Ramsay/Ambrose side of the family.  After the wedding, we stayed for some days at the Ramsays, enjoying some post-wedding relaxation and watching the World Cup. 

While in Wooster, we had the opportunity to share at the church Colleen attended growing up, Wooster Mennonite.   It was really fun sharing with the Sunday school kids – they ask the best questions!  Both the church and the Sunday school kids had raised some money for us, and the kids bought some toys for the Baby Centre kids.  It was great to share in the service, especially since so many had been praying for specific children at the Baby Centre. 

The birthday girl in a heart...:

From Wooster, we went to Chicago for Fourth of July weekend accompanied by my sister, Corinn.  We stayed with friends from college, and got to celebrate Corinn’s 23^rd birthday (on the 4^th) walking around downtown, Navy Pier, and the Taste of Chicago in Grant Park.  (Click HERE for our album of pictures from Wooster and Chicago)  We also took some fun pictures with sparklers... Click HERE for more sparkler photos.  

In Indianapolis/Greenwood, we juggled spending with the Wittigs, visiting friends in the area, and shopping for “necessities” to take back to Kenya like peanut butter, rice krispy treats, and jello...  we also found some time to shoot some more sparkler pictures since we had so much fun doing that the first time in Chicago - click here to see them. 

Here's us with Corinn and the Moores at the Bean in Chicago:

One of the days we were in Greenwood, we drove the hour and a half down to see my (Cason's) grandparents who are in nursing home facilities close to the Kentucky border.  We were incredibly blessed that my grandpa, who suffers from Parkinson’s among other things, was having a “good” day so he could talk and pray with us – it was such a blessing to be able to talk with him so much!  My nana, who is 91 years old, is as spunky and opinionated as ever – among other things, she told us she has a list of baby name recommendations for us. :  )  Papa and Nana have to live in separate facilities because of the different levels of care that they require, so it was so sweet to see them together when we took her to visit him.  The picture at the top of this post is of them holding hands... click here to see an album of photos with them. 

For our last weekend before returning to Kenya, Colleen’s parents John and Eileen came to Greenwood to spend time with us.  Everyone enjoyed spending some of Saturday at the Indy Museum of Art outdoor grounds and gardens.  See pictures at the bottom of this post. 

On that Sunday morning (the 11th), we shared at my parent’s church, Southside Bible, which has supported us from the beginning.  Above is the video that we showed in church before sharing about our ministries in Kenya.  As you might note, no pictures of spreadsheets or me in the office… people really seem to respond much better to pictures of the Baby Centre kids! 

Sunday afternoon was (of course!) the World Cup final, so Ramsays and Wittigs headed up to a pub on the north side to watch the match between Spain and Holland.  We met our friends, the Van Burens, at the pub, and they were both wearing Netherlands jerseys… in contrast to my Spain shirt. 

The match went long, and was a little dull, but it was such a fun environment.   I was happy that the Spanish won.  We said our goodbyes to the Ramsays after the match, then had one more day of frantic packing and shopping in the US before flying out on Tuesday. 

Colleen with her parents:

I’m writing this on Wednesday evening on our flight to Nairobi… the little plane graphic on the monitor keeps getting closer and closer to Kenya.  We feel so blessed to have so many friends and to have had the opportunity to see so many of them while we are home.  But are also excited to be back in Kenya with our friends there, and to see the Baby Center kids again. 

As we said in a previous post, World Gospel Mission has asked us to extend our stay in Kenya beyond our original return date of August.  We’ve agreed to stay until Christmas, so we are trying to raise funds towards that end.  If you are interested in supporting us, please see the contribution forms on the right side of the blog.  Let us know if you have any questions.

While in US, we were asked often what our plans are for after December… and the true answer is that only God knows.  It is exciting and yet a little nerve-wracking to not have any plans, but we trust that God knows the way for us (Jeremiah 29).  At this point we are planning on coming to the US in December when our current term ends, and seeing what God has for us there, but we’ll be praying for guidance over the next few months, and it would mean the world to us if you would join us in prayer.  More than requesting for “writing in the sky” telling us where to go/what to do, we are mainly claiming the promise of James 1:  “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt…”

Thanks so much for reading our blog, and for your support. 

Cason & Colleen

Note: Click any of the pictures on the post to see a larger version.

Our friend, Linnea, as a sparklered angel:

Me, in a box:

Corinn and Colleen in front of Buckingham Fountain in Chicago:

Colleen and her mom relaxing at the Ramsay house in Wooster:

Americana on July 4th:

Family pictures from the Indy Museum of art:

Until next time... 

Redemption

There are no orphans in the Kingdom of God! Hallelujah!

Today I rocked our newest baby and wept over her beautiful life that was carelessly thrown away by the woman who birthed her. While I hugged her to me one of the volunteers began singing “Jesus loves you, this I know… little ones to HIM belong, they are weak and he is strong” with the toddlers outside. As childish as that song sometimes seems it made me think, if this precious life can bring me to tears how much more does God weep at the thought of someone throwing this little girl away like trash. Not only does God weep but also desires her redemption and healing and has chosen us to be His tools to see that she is raised as a valued and loved child of God.

Baby Precious was found in a pit latrine in a nearby town. We received her at 3 days old sick and worn out from her difficult beginning. I praise God for rescuing this girl and bringing her to us where she can be loved and cared for. Please be praying for her as she recovers and adjusts to life at the AGC Baby Centre.

Click HERE to see an update from the Baby Centre Director, Staci Keter, about Precious. 

This past Sunday Cason was invited to preach at a church about an hour away from our home. Our night guard, John, has planted 7 rural churches and has been wanting Cason to visit their head church. So Sunday we drove the dirt road back to a building with a tin roof, wood slats for sides and dirt floors.

We arrived for the service at ten, and we' had been told that we would be able to leave by 1pm so we could go meet with our youth group (from the church we regularly attend).  Here’s a picture of Cason and John before the service. 

When we first arrived, only the Sunday school children were there, so we were given a tour of the area, and then we went to a local home to drink tea and talk. The pastors from the other churches had been invited, so they slowly started to join us.  The service got going around 11:30am and the first 40 minutes was all people giving greetings and welcome speeches, followed by incredible acapella singing with drums.

Cason spoke to the congregation about The value of discernment and wisdom when listening to God’s word, and not focusing on the things of the world.  His main scripture was Colossians 2:8, which says, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

His message was translated into Kalenjin for congregation, and they listened attentively.  The other pastor’s especially took notes as he discussed the “deceptive philosophies” and “human traditions” that take us captive from the Lord. 

After being given some gifts of vegetables, we were excused early from the service.  Before we were released to go, however, we had to join John and some of the other pastors for a meeting, lunch, and chai.  We were also presented with a letter to bring with us to the States requesting help with a hospital, school, a bible college, and to send their children to the US for college. :)  We didn’t make any promises, but really enjoyed our time meeting with the pastors and the family of our host. 

Click HERE for to see a few more pictures of our time at the rural church.

 

We had 20-25 children peering into the hut while we ate lunch and when we would look at them they would all run and scream.  It was very cute but I wish they weren’t quite so afraid. It was a wonderful day and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience rural Kenya.  We are really hoping to continue to be involved with these churches and support them however we can. 

We left around 4pm… right on time! Needless to say, we missed youth group at our church, but we’re so glad that we stayed to spend time with the church and the pastors. : )  On our drive home, Cas and I discussed how it seems like people from the rural areas, especially the youth, feel inferior… something that we noticed even just spending a few hours there.  Hopefully on our next trip, we can try to share more about how we are all equal in God’s site and that our only true worth comes from Him.

As always, thanks so much for reading!

Colleen (and Cason)

PS – Click HERE for a recent album from Baby Center… there are some really good ones of the kids!

First one in a while…

Hello everyone! Sorry about the lack of posts lately… Tuesday was the first night in over two weeks that we’ve both been home with no guests or meetings. We’ve enjoyed being busy and having guests, but it is nice to relax just the two of us!

We are leaving to come back to the US for a quick three week trip a week from today, primarily for Colleen’s sister’s wedding. We’ll be in the States from June 21^st, - July 13^th in Ohio, Indy, and Chicago, and we’d love to see you all, so let us know if you’ll be around.

~ Football Tournament ~

In addition to staying busy with work in the office, I’ve been leading the youth group at church and organized a football tournament with my local club. I had told the guys on my football team that I would help organize a tournament before we go back to the US for a few weeks. So last weekend, we hosted some other local teams on our home ground.

Predictably, not everything went smoothly… we were supposed to have 6 teams, but only 5 showed up… the first game was supposed to be at 9am on Saturday, but didn’t start until almost noon… there were a few questionable calls and some unhappy spectators, but all in all it was a great time.

My team, Ngata, won the final on Sunday 3-1, which was attended by 150+ people. After the final game, one of the pastors at our church gave a brief talk and invited the guys to our church. We also prayed and handed out some prizes. It was a very Kenyan weekend, but I loved every minute and was glad that the church got to share with young men from the community. The local teams are excited about organizing more tournaments in August once I return – if you’d like to help sponsor one, let me know! I’ll also be collecting some soccer gear while I’m home, so if you have any goalie gloves, cleats, shin guards, or kits you’d like to donate, just shoot me an email.

I’d appreciate your prayers for how we can continue to be a witness to the Ngata football team and the other teams in the area.

~ Youth Group ~

A month or so ago, we switched the youth group meeting from Saturday to Sunday afternoon after the service since attendance on Saturdays had been sporadic.  We’ve been reading though 1 John with them and have been discussing how we need to make our faith our own – to really personalize it and sift through all the lies that the world puts out there.

One of the passages that we really dug into was 1 John 2:15-17, which says, “¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

We had some great conversations about what is the “world” for us… I inserted the “worldly things” that the youth put forward as tempting for them. So we read the passage as, “Do not love your cell phone, or anyone in your cell phone… Do not love the TV, or any show on TV… Do you not love your friends… Do not love your boyfriend…” We discussed how those things aren’t inherently bad, but they become detrimental when we prioritize them over our relationship with God. They seemed to enjoy my “paraphrasing” and I think it helped with driving the point home.  The thing that really clicked with the youth is when we discussed why God sets rules for us… the reason He doesn’t want us to fall in love with the things of the world. He is trying to protect us because He knows that it will all pass away, and the only thing that will matter in the end is our relationship with Him.

Please pray for the Ngata youth as they continue to seek out the things of the Lord and fight the temptations of this world. Also pray that God would give us (and the other leaders) wisdom in how we can connect with them and encourage them toward Christ.

~ The Baby Center ~

Colleen has been busy at the Baby Center organizing the volunteers to do daily physical therapy for the kids and helping with the extra babies – there are 40 right now! There are currently 4 additional volunteers working at the Baby Center, some of whom are helping Colleen with physical therapy and child development. A few weeks ago, a team of physical therapists from Nairobi came to the Baby Center to analyze the kids and help Colleen plan development programs – it was such a blessing to have them come, and the new plans and additional help has seem some drastic improvement in some of the kids.

Please keep praying for the kids of the Baby Center… It was a difficult last week for Colleen. She took three of the  babies to Tenwek hospital for check ups and spent a sleepless night with the sick children. Also, the Baby Center has received a new baby and said goodbye to others, which she will write about soon.

Sometimes the weight of the stories behind these children’s abandonments can be very difficult to put behind us and can make our hearts heavy with grief. We believe that God has a plan for all of these children, but sometimes it is hard to forget their difficult and at times cruel beginnings and see beyond to the redemption God has for them.  Please pray for Colleen as she continues to ministry to these precious little ones, that God would protect her heart, as well as the other workers at the Baby Center

Thanks so much for reading our blog!  Hope to see some of you in the US in a few weeks. 

God Bless,

Cason

PS – Isn’t Angela beautiful?  This was taken a few Sundays ago when 21 Baby Center babies were dedicated at church.  Click HERE to see Colleen’s album.